Although born a bit earlier than Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, some commentators number Swiss soprano Lisa della Casa as having been among "the last of the great opera divas," and few -- if any -- have risen to challenge that notion. During her prime, della Casa was a frequent flyer at the Salzburg Festival, but mainly in opera productions; Orfeo d'Or's Lisa Della Casa: Lieder reproduces the only solo recital that della Casa gave in Salzburg. This was released once before in EMI Classics' limited series of Salzburg ...
Read More
Although born a bit earlier than Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, some commentators number Swiss soprano Lisa della Casa as having been among "the last of the great opera divas," and few -- if any -- have risen to challenge that notion. During her prime, della Casa was a frequent flyer at the Salzburg Festival, but mainly in opera productions; Orfeo d'Or's Lisa Della Casa: Lieder reproduces the only solo recital that della Casa gave in Salzburg. This was released once before in EMI Classics' limited series of Salzburg Festival performances, and features della Casa in a varied menu of art songs as accompanied by pianist Arpad Sándor on August 11, 1957. As della Casa was best known as a singer of Richard Strauss' operatic roles, perhaps it's not surprising that she sings more Strauss than anything else here. However, she does a very good job with Schubert's Gretchen am Spinnrade, Brahms' Feldeinsamkeit, and the two still rarely heard songs from Othmar Schoeck's incidental music to Erwin und Elmire. In...
Read Less